Nanoparticles generally have increasingly found use in a variety of new applications, from composite materials with different physical properties, to improved electronic devices. With the increase in availability and decreasing cost of nanoparticles, which are becoming available in relative quantity compared to several years ago, there is greater interest in tailoring the properties of nanoparticles to further suit the needs of more advanced applications.
Derivatization of nanoparticles to alter their properties and adjust their environmental interactions has been examined for reactivity and suitable conditions, including those of carbonaceous nanoparticles such as nanotubes, nanographite, carbon black, etc. For example, U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2010/0592463 discloses the derivatization of carbon particles including nanotubes under conditions of reductive alkylation (sometimes referred to in the art as reductive amination). However, such reactions, which use standard dissolving metal techniques in liquid ammonia, require low temperatures and are not generally readily scaled. Furthermore, liquid ammonia can react with certain functional groups such as esters, anhydrides, and acid chlorides, and hence is not compatible with such functional groups.